As time went on and more work piled up, I got even more stressed that my team had waited on me for days so they could move ahead. Multiple texts came in, “Hello? We need this finished….” Smiley face emoji. Sad emoji. They were as patient as they could be.

I finally went to bed knowing the next morning I would either hire someone to complete the work or throw in the towel.

It gets extreme sometimes.

Cut to 5:30am the next morning when I wake up with a thought that stunned me.

“You’re making it WAY harder than it has to be, Ishita.”

It seemed like the tasks on my list were difficult (or at least unpleasant), so I put them off. But the truth was, it wasn’t that I couldn’t push through the work load or manage the stress – it was that I was making it 10x harder by getting in my own way.

Now, all of a sudden at 5:30am, it was clearly NOT as hard as I thought.

I dove into my day with a FURY of energy.

I started at 5:38am and by 5:46am, I had one blog post done. I knocked out the second and edited another by 5:53. By the time 6am hit, I had outlined my entire launch, followed up with current clients, and had emails drafted for my team to send at a reasonable hour.

7am rolled around and I sat back, everything on my list complete.

I was FLOORED. This was the list I stared at, avoided, and dreaded for two days – and I finished it all in TWO HOURS… and it was great quality work. Writing and emails that I could proudly sign my name to.

Once I saw how I KNOCKED OUT what had plagued me for two whole days in a record two hours, I was shocked how simple it was.

The most important thing in business (and life, really) is to operate from your zone of strength, where you feel powerful and in the “zone.”

I love my clients so I can talk to them for hours. I love being on stage so I can speak for a long time. These make me feel STRONG.

But with so many necessary tasks in your business that aren’t in your zone of strength, you need to come up with a work-around.

When I sit down to write, I get uncomfortable if I’m not in my flow. I get caught up trying to “be” a certain way instead of simply being myself, like I’d do if I was speaking. When I speak out loud it cuts through my censor and I can laser focus on what I want to say.

We’re not meant to do every task in our business at level 10 competency. We may do certain things at 10 and others at 6, or even 3.

It’s not about “pushing through,” it’s about not making it harder than it is – THAT’S when we procrastinate, stress out, or just stop altogether.

Like I did before my early morning epiphany.

Whether it was the early morning hour or because my phone was close enough to grab – I dictated into my phone and got it DONE. Within 15 minutes, done. Including this post. :)

Find the workaround, however you do it. It might be messy, but it’ll work. And it will allow the work to get DONE in half the time and for YOU to feel supported as a business owner.

When you make things harder than they are, it takes a real toll on your business.

You start to doubt yourself, “Maybe I’m not cut out to be a health coach.” Or, “I got into this business to be my own boss, but I’m miserable. I don’t want to do this anymore.”

You’re not playing the wrong game, you’re just momentarily working against yourself.

I feel proud when I come up with a hack or a new system to make my business and life easier. I feel like an amazing business owner.

The key is to work with who you are, work with what you’ve got, and be real about your work-arounds.

I promise you, no matter how hard it seems right now, it CAN get easier.